Furze Platt Juniors 2026-27 Newsletter

We have already leapt from summer to the end of Autumn Term 1! The last few weeks have absolutely flown past, and we have enjoyed so many wonderful learning opportunities here at FPJS. Here are some of the highlights from your child’s year group.

Highlights included:

Y3: Year 3 children were lucky enough to be transported back to the Stone Age in our woodland area to experience first-hand what life would have been like for Stone Age dwellers!

Y4: Year 4 have been investigating some strange occurrences in school. The children reported sightings of aliens who looked remarkably like some of the staff! They then wrote reports on what they had discovered—and have accused me of being an alien on the gate most days!

Year 3 and Year 4 also enjoyed a wonderful performance from Simon Mole, which inspired their writing (see below!).

Y5: Last week, we enjoyed our first-ever Year 5 class assemblies on the history of Maidenhead, where all our Year 5 children performed so confidently. It was clear to see how much they had engaged with this topic as they showcased their learning through poetry, songs and high-quality writing.

Y6: Year 6 enjoyed a fantastic day out in Cookham, focusing on the wonderful local artist Stanley Spencer. The children’s behaviour on the train, in the gallery and while walking around Cookham was impeccable. We even received comments from members of the public who were highly impressed with their conduct.

Enjoy a wonderful half-term break! We look forward to the lead-up to Christmas when we return!

Anna Clark

Head of School

Changes to our use of Photographs in our Newsletter

We love sharing the wonderful learning experiences, achievements and special moments that happen every day at FPJS. Photographs are a lovely way to give families a glimpse into school life, but keeping our children safe must always come first.

With developments in artificial intelligence (AI), there are growing concerns about how photographs of children shared online can be copied, altered or misused.

As part of our ongoing commitment to safeguarding, we are making some changes to the photographs we share through our school communications.

You may notice that we are increasingly choosing photographs which:

Capture children busy learning, exploring and creating, without showing their faces.
Show activities from behind or from different angles.
Focus on children's work, achievements and experiences rather than identifiable faces.

Where children's faces are visible, we will continue to follow our parental consent arrangements carefully.

We aren't changing what we celebrate – just how we capture it!

We want families to continue enjoying all the brilliant things happening at FPJS, whilst being mindful of children's privacy and the changing digital world.

Thank you for your continued support in helping us keep our children safe.

Diary Dates:

Term 2 begins on Monday 2nd November and ends on Friday 18th December at 1.30pm

Tues 3rd Nov:

Sue Palmer - Author workshops

Fri 6th Nov:

Y2 Talk n Tour 9-10

Y5/6 Inter-house sports afternoon (wear PE kit to school)

Tues 11th Nov:

Remembrance Day- children will learn and join in the silence at 11/11/11

Thurs 12th Nov:

Non uniform- Children in Need

Fri 13th Nov:

INSET DAY-School closed to pupils

Fri 13th Nov:

FPSA Pop Music Bingo Night 8-11pm (FPJS hall)

Sun 15th Nov- Sat 21st Nov:

Y6 Residential to Rhos-Y-Gwaliau

Fri 20th Nov:

Y3/4 Inter-house sports afternoon (postponed from term 1)

Mon 23rd Nov:

Peter Pan Panto for all classes

Weds 25th Nov:

Y5 trip to Winchester Planetarium

Thurs 26th Nov:

Christmas homework competitions lauch

Fri 27th Nov:

Y2 Talk n Tour 9-10am

Weds 2nd Dec:

Y4 Christmas Unwrapped

Fri 4th Dec:

Dress down day for Tombola donations for the Christmas Fair

Sat 5th Dec:

FPSA Christmas Fair (11.30am - 2.30pm)

Tues 8th Dec:

Y3 Christmas Performance- Wren Class

Weds 9th Dec:

Y3 Christmas Performance- Robin Class

Thurs 10th Dec:

Y3 Christmas Performance- Finch Class

FPSA Junior discos (4-5pm year 3/4, 5.15pm-6.30pm year 5/6)

Friday 11th Dec:

Christmas Jumper day in aid of Save the Children:

Weds 16th Dec:

Christmas homework competitions deadline & Christmas Lunch

Thurs 17th Dec:

2.30pm Guitar concert- invited parents only

Friday 18th Dec:

End of term. School closes at 1.30pm

Sue Palmer- Author- coming to FPJS Tues 3rd November!

Quick Links

Curriculum

Lunch Menu

Term Dates 25-26

Calendar

Who's who at FPJS

Website including housepoints update

FPJS School News

Y3 and Y4 Poetry Party!

On Tuesday, 29th September, our Year 3 and Year 4 pupils enjoyed an unforgettable visit from author Simon Mole and musician Ghecko.

They kicked off the day with a fantastic assembly packed with lively poetry, active audience participation, and catchy, humorous songs. The children were thoroughly enthralled and couldn't stop talking about it all day! In the afternoon, Year 3 took part in a hands-on creative workshop with Simon and Ghecko, drawing on their own experiences to craft original poems.

Inspired by their visit and to celebrate National Poetry Day, we are excited to launch an In-House Poetry Competition, open to all year groups!

Deadline: Friday, 6th November
Topic: Anything you like—let your imagination run wild!
Reward: Every entry earns valuable house points for your team.

Please use the link below to give some ideas if you need them.

We encourage everyone to get involved. Good luck—we can’t wait to read your wonderful creations!

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOAbOJTjL_M6ht0yFfkI_qynods2ys_fF&si=EnzInXXVpWOguVIA

School council and Eco Warriors for 2026-27

Well done to the children below who were voted by their class to be a school council rep or Eco reps for this year. Photos have been sent via Seesaw

Y6 Art trip to Cookham

Despite the rain, Year 6 set off on an exciting trip to Cookham, armed with waterproof coats, umbrellas and plenty of enthusiasm! During our visit, we enjoyed a tour of the village, exploring where the famous artist Stanley Spencer grew up and dsicovered some of the places that inspired his artwork. It was particularly exciting to spot the real-life locations featured in his famous paintings and make connections between his artwork and the surrounding landscape.

As we explored the local area, the children took time to sketch different features of the landscape, focusing on the beautiful buildings and natural surroundings. They also collected a range of interesting patterns and details to inspire their final pieces of artwork back at school.

We are incredibly grateful to Cookham Church for kindly allowing us to enjoy our lunch inside and giving us a much-needed opportunity to warm up and dry off!

The children returned to school full of inspiration, ready to put their observations and creativity into practice. A brilliant day out for Year 6!

Harvest Festival

Thank you to all the families who kindly donated items as part of our Harvest Festival celebrations! We had a huge amount of items that were collected by Foodshare and will support local people. Thank you also to Beth Gomm from Christian Connections for leading the assembly which focussed on how sharing to others can also make us happier! We also enjoyed singing our harvest song "Harvest Samba".

Black History Month

We are very proud to have such a diverse and multicultural school community and recognise the importance of celebrating Black History Month. Throughout October, teachers have used a range of classroom resources to explore the importance of celebrating diversity and the richness it brings to our school community and the wider world. We are also proud of our incredibly diverse curriculum, which allows us to celebrate multiculturalism throughout the year, not just in October. From our Year 6 Black and British history unit to learning about Katherine Johnson’s life story in Year 5, alongside the many diverse books and curriculum topics explored across the school, we are committed to ensuring that our children learn about and appreciate the contributions, experiences and achievements of people from different cultures and backgrounds.

Y6 Step back in time for WW2 day!

Year 6 travelled back in time to the 1940s for an exciting World War II Day, bringing their history topic to a memorable close!

The children arrived in fantastic wartime outfits, with many dressed as evacuees and the Year 6 block was transformed with vintage posters and decorations.

Throughout the day, the children experienced air raid sirens, made their own Anderson shelters and even baked carrot biscuits using wartime rationing recipes. We ended the day with VE Day celebrations, marking the end of the war in Europe.

It was wonderful to see the children's enthusiasm and love for their learning.

What a fantastic way to finish our World War II topic!

Stars of the week - Class Stars & PE Stars

Star of the week Newsletter 2: 22nd October 2026

Well done to all our stars over the last few weeks:

Our stars are chosen from following the values of the school: Passion, Well-being and respect.

We also chose children who have made exceptional effort in their work or attitude to learning.

TT Rock stars- Top Ten

Well done to all our children who have started using TT rock stars regularly to practise times tables!

Keep up the daily practise everyone- it is scientifically proven that practising a little and often will ensure you master those times tables as soon as possible until they are automatically recalled from memory.

Here are our Top 15 children who have played the MOST in the last month:

Bedrock Learning

Well done to all our children who are regularly completing their homework tasks to improve their vocabulary! Here are our top 15 children who have earned the most points this month:

Sports Update

First Pitch Baseball festival- Y4

On 30th September, 20 Year 4 students from Furze Platt Junior School, 10 from Swift class and 10 from Skylark class, took part in the First Pitch Baseball Festival, proudly representing our school. For many of the children, this was a completely new sport, so it was fantastic to see everyone getting involved, trying their best and developing their skills throughout the event. Each team also had the important task of choosing one person who best demonstrated all of the Desborough College school values. These children were awarded a special medal in recognition of their efforts. In Swift class, the medal was awarded to Millie, and in Skylark class, it went to Albert. A huge well done to you both, and well done to all 20 children for representing our school so brilliantly!

Miss Gill

Try it festival Y6

On 13th October, 10 Year 6 students from Heron class proudly represented Furze Platt Junior School at the Try It Festival, held at Newlands Girls’ School. The children had the opportunity to try four new sports, and it was fantastic to see them all getting involved, embracing new challenges and developing their skills. Their teamwork, enthusiasm and motivation throughout the festival were brilliant to see! Well done to everyone who took part. You were fantastic ambassadors for our school!

Miss Gill

Mini Ballers Mini Basketball Y4

On 20th October, our Year 4 students proudly represented Furze Platt Junior School and Desborough College at the Mini Basketball Festival. Students from Kingfisher and Skylark classes took part in nine different basketball stations, developing their skills and learning new techniques. After completing the stations, they put their skills into practice by playing mini games against other schools. Throughout the festival, each team had the important job of recognising one student who best demonstrated their school’s values. In Kingfisher class, this award went to Wolf, and in Skylark class, it was awarded to Freya! A huge well done to you both, and well done to everyone who took part. You were all amazing ambassadors for our school!

Miss Gill

Sports Ambassadors

We are delighted to introduce our six Year 6 Sports Ambassadors: Amelia, Amaya, Martha, Arthur, Monty and Myles! All Year 6 pupils were invited to complete a Google Form explaining why they wanted to become a Sports Ambassador and to nominate another pupil they felt would be great for the role. After tallying up the responses, these six pupils were chosen for this important responsibility.

On 16th October, they visited Desborough College to take part in their Sports Ambassador training, where they developed the skills and knowledge needed for their new roles. They worked brilliantly together and showed great enthusiasm throughout the session! Our Sports Ambassadors will now be helping to deliver fun sports activities during break times for our Year 3 and 4 pupils, encouraging everyone to get active, try new activities and enjoy being physically active. Our Sports Captains will also be supporting them along the way. We are very proud of our new Sports Ambassadors and look forward to seeing them make a positive difference across our school. Well done, everyone!

Miss Gill

Online learning at FPJS

Digital Literacy & Online Safety at FPJS

This term, our Key Stage 2 pupils kicked off with an initial Digital Literacy lesson focused on password security. One of the most essential aspects of staying safe online. Children explored why passwords matter, how to craft strong, secure combinations, and why personal information should never be shared.

Since then, pupils have been consolidating this vital online safety learning through their 'Solid Six' retrieval practice, all while diving into their first full Computing units of the term.

Continue the learning at home

Parents, carers and children can explore these useful KS2 online safety tips for 7 to 11-year-olds, including advice about creating secure passwords and protecting personal information:

For Parents and Carers: Safer Internet Resources

For Children and Young People: Safer Internet Resources

Children can also put their digital literacy skills to the test by exploring Google's Interland. We would particularly recommend Reality River, where children have to make smart decisions and learn how to recognise what can and cannot be trusted online:

Play Interland – Reality River

Digital Leader at FPJS

Our newly appointed Digital Leaders held their very first meeting of the term this week, stepping eagerly into their roles as FPJS’s tech champions! Together, the team discussed what their focus will be for the year ahead and agreed on a shared mission:

"Our mission is to inspire everyone at FPJS to be safe, smart, and kind online, while helping our classes look after our iPads and Chromebooks so we can all enjoy using technology for our learning!"

As part of their role, these pupil ambassadors will be helping teachers keep our devices organised, supporting their peers during Computing lessons, and leading new E-Safety initiatives across the school. We are so proud of their enthusiasm and look forward to seeing the positive impact they will make throughout the year!

Year Group Updates

Year 3 News

What an incredible term it has been in Year 3! We kicked off the year with a supportive transition period to help the children settle smoothly into junior school life, and wrapped up with an energetic in-house sports competition. In between, the children enjoyed immersive Stone Age workshops, interactive poetry assemblies, and fantastic creative art projects.

English

Inspired by our hands-on outdoor Stone Age experience, the children crafted vivid setting descriptions. They focused on using 2A sentences (two adjectives before a noun) to paint clear pictures for the reader, while making great strides with their handwriting, presentation, and punctuation.

Maths

Pupils have been mastering addition and subtraction with crossing tens and ones using physical manipulatives and formal column methods. They have also been building speed and confidence with their multiplication tables using Times Tables Rock Stars.

History

History has been a highlight, with pupils diving into the Stone Age to discover how early humans lived, hunted, and eventually transitioned to farming. Reading 24 Hours in the Stone Age brought the era to life, and the children had wonderful discussions surrounding Stonehenge and the mysteries of its construction.

RE, Science & Art

RE: As part of our study on Hinduism, pupils explored Diwali, created intricate Rangoli patterns, and planned their own festive celebrations.
Science: Hands-on learning continued with a friction investigation, where children predicted and tested how toy cars travelled across different surfaces.
Art: Drawing inspiration from Wassily Kandinsky, the children created striking artwork exploring color and geometric shapes.

We are immensely proud of how well the children have settled into Year 3 and the outstanding effort they have put into their learning. Well done, everyone! Have a wonderful, well-deserved half-term break—we look forward to seeing you all for another great term ahead.

Mrs Barry- Y3 Team Leader

Year 3- What are we learning?

Ask your child the following questions to see what they have learnt over the last few weeks!:

What word classes are needed for a 2A sentence?

What was one of the reasons why Stonhenge was built?

How many hundreds are in the number 345?

Our current reads we are enjoying in Y3...

24 hours in the Stone Age - Lan Cook

The boy who grew dragons - Andy Shepherd

The worst witch - Jill Murphy

Year 4 News

What a fantastic end to the half term we have had in Year 4!

In English, the children have been busy drafting and writing their information reports for NASA. They have been investigating some strange goings-on around the school and gathering evidence about some suspicious alien teachers. Using their findings, they have written excellent reports to inform and warn the other children at FPJS about them!

In Maths, the children have been mastering the column method to add and subtract numbers up to 10,000. They have particularly enjoyed using our interactive place value grids to demonstrate exchanging and carrying. We have also been consolidating their understanding of Roman numerals.

Our class book this half term has been Little Badman and the Invasion of the Killer Aunties, which has kept us all laughing and guessing! The children have loved following Humza’s dream of becoming Eggington’s best rapper – until, of course, his teachers start disappearing and being replaced by aunties. Luckily, with the help of his Grandpa, Humza and his friends manage to defeat the alien aunties!

In Art, the children have channelled their creativity into designing and making their own Anglo-Saxon pots. They have worked incredibly hard to plan their patterns, mould and shape the clay, and paint their pots using colours inspired by nature.

In RE, we have been exploring Judaism and learning about the Jewish people’s special relationship with God, including the story of Abraham and the importance of the Ten Commandments.

It has been a busy, creative and joyful half term, and we are so proud of how hard the children have worked. We hope you all have a wonderful and well-deserved half-term break!

Mrs Batchelor – Year 4 Team Leader

Year 4- What are we learning?

Ask your child the following questions to see what they have learnt over the last few weeks:

Can you remember the rounding rhyme? 0 -- 4 to the _____ 5 -- 6 climb the _____
What punctuation mark comes after a fronted adverbial?
How many times did the Vikings invade the Anglo-Saxons?

Our current reads we are enjoying in Y4...

Little Badman and the Invasion of the Killer Aunties

By Humza Arshad & Henry White

The Great Chocoplot

By Chris Callaghan

Fairy Vs. Wizard

By Jenny McLachlan

Year 5 News

What a fantastic term it has been in Year 5! Our amazing pupils have continued to rise to every challenge with great determination, and it has been wonderful to see their hard work and enthusiasm shine through in everything they do.

We have packed so much into our learning journey this term. In History, the children thoroughly enjoyed exploring the Victorians, which linked brilliantly with our class reading of Vile Victorians and The Little Match Girl Strikes Back. A real highlight was our Victorian-themed class assembly, where the pupils wowed us with their confident line delivery and an upbeat performance describing how Maidenhead changed during the era. In Science and Art, we launched into the cosmos, exploring space and creating stunning ‘spacescapes’.

Our English work has been equally impressive. Building on their narrative writing, the children turned their skills to persuasion, writing brilliant letters to Mrs Clark making the case for doubling our homework! Meanwhile, in Maths, after cementing their place value knowledge up to the millions, the children have built significantly on their four operations knowledge to tackle increasingly complex calculations.

Across the wider curriculum. In Science and Art, the children launched into the cosmos by exploring space and producing stunning ‘spacescapes’, while also recreating the lunar phases using Oreos! Pupils have also explored the core beliefs of Sikhism in RE, mastered song creation in Music, learned how to talk about pets in French, discussed the foundations of friendship in PSHE, and developed their video creation skills in Computing.

It has been a remarkably busy and rewarding term, and every Year 5 pupil should be incredibly proud of all they have achieved. We hope you all have a wonderful, restful end of term break and we look forward to seeing everyone refreshed and ready for the next term!

Mr Sawle and Miss Scott, Year 5 Team Leaders

Year 5 - What are we learning?

Ask your child the following questions to see what they have learnt over the last few weeks:

What is a prime number?
In a composition, how do we use the rule of thirds?
How do we make a letter persuasive?

Our current reads we are enjoying in Y5...

Year 6 News

Year 6 have had a brilliant first half term, and it has been wonderful to see the children engage in all subjects with such enthusiasm and passion! We have been particularly impressed by how they have immersed themselves in our World War II topic, making fantastic cross-curricular links and developing a deeper understanding of this fascinating period in history.

In Writing, the children have explored a range of genres, including narratives, diary entries and even an audio chapter inspired by the well-known novel Holes by Louis Sachar. Throughout this unit, they have focused on using dialogue effectively to develop characters and engage the reader. Perhaps this has been a little teaser for our new class book after half term…!

In Maths, we have now covered the four operations and the children have worked incredibly hard to develop their confidence and accuracy when using written methods. We are pleased with the strong understanding they have demonstrated and look forward to building on these foundations after half term when we move on to fractions, decimals and percentages.

In Art, the children have created some fantastic mixed-media final pieces inspired by our trip to Cookham. They have thoughtfully incorporated elements of the local landscape alongside patterns and details they observed in the surrounding area, producing some wonderfully creative and individual artwork.

In Science, we have explored how light travels. We also made some exciting links to our World War II topic by investigating which materials would have been most effective for blackout curtains during the Blitz, putting our scientific enquiry skills to the test!

We are incredibly proud of the enthusiasm, effort and determination Year 6 have shown throughout their first half term. We hope all of the children and their families enjoy a restful and well-deserved break, and we look forward to another exciting half term of learning!

Mrs Morales - Y6 Team Leader

Year 6- What are we learning?

Ask your child the following questions to see what they have learnt over the last few weeks!:

What is BODMAS?
What was like like on the homefront during WW2?
What makes effective speech in writing?

Our current reads we are enjoying in Y6...

SEND updates

GEMS Information for parents:

GEMS works with parents and carers, sharing understanding of autism & ADHD and collaborating on strategies that respect each child or young person’s ways of being in the home environment. We offer this through workshops, courses, animations, and by signposting to local and national services.

A full list of the support options can be found in our workshops section on the website: https://www.gems4health.com/

Some are standalone sessions (e.g. anxiety, sleep), others are multi-session courses. All are developed with input from families and people with lived experience of autism and ADHD. Our short animations offer accessible learning opportunities that highlight key ideas about neurodiversity.

You can contact our helpline by calling 01753 373 244 / 0800 999 1342 or by emailing gems.4health@nhs.net

Please note that our telephone line is not a crisis or emergency service, and calls are not recorded. If you need urgent advice or support, please contact NHS 111, the Samaritans, or the Shout text support service. In an emergency, call 999.

https://www.gems4health.com/workshops/

https://www.gems4health.com/gems-advice/

Mrs Endacott

FPSA Update

Mr T's Quiz Night

A week ago, the Juniors hall was filled with over 140 people separated into 25 teams (including 4 staff teams) as they battled over a variety of question and picture rounds.

Congratulations to 'Head Lice & Bum Worms in Year 3' who won the quiz (and best team name). Second place went to 'Oh my dayz! It's Quiz Night' and 3rd place was 'Where's Elly?'.

Thank you to everyone who attended the quiz, the event has raised well over £2,000 profit for both schools. The quiz will return in March.

Happy School Bags

Thank you to everyone who dropped off a bag or two outside the Infants on Monday morning, this has raised £212 for both schools.

Oakwood Estates Christmas Fair boards update

A big thanks to everyone who signed up to have a Christmas Fair Oakwood Estates board outside their house, we had over 40 households sign up which will raise £225 for both schools and help to promote the event too.

Copas Farm Turkeys - raise funds for FPIS/FPJS

Order an award winning turkey from Copas, simply enter the code FPJS26 at checkout and Copas Turkeys will donate 5% of your order value to the FPSA.

Dates for your Diary:

Pop Music Bingo Night - Friday 13th November (8-11pm)

Tickets are now on sale for our next big event at the Juniors Hall, 'Pop Music Bingo Night' with host Jeff Lloyd. Get ready for a night of big tunes, big singalongs and big prizes!

Bingo games will include '80's monsters', '90's dance bangers', 21st century, cheese and more! Lots of prizes including £100 cash prize for the final game. It promises to be a very fun evening so grab your tickets, invite your friends and joins us for an unforgettable night of music, laughs and good vibes!

Tickets on sale at: www.pta-events.co.uk/fpsa

Christmas Fair - Saturday 5th December (11.30am-2.30pm)

Our 2nd biggest fundraiser of the year is back, please save the date! We will need lots of help with this event from donating baked goods (cakes, cookies, flapjacks etc.), tombola gifts, secrets room gifts as well as helping to volunteer on a stall.

Junior Discos - Thursday 10th December (4-5pm & 5.15-6.30pm)

DJs King and Sawle are back in action!

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